Does it ever really end?
by Talian
Summary: It is after colony 197 and the world has finally lulled itself into peace once more. Just my view on how they get their lives together after it all ends so far.~~R&R~~
1. New beggining

It is after colony 197 and the world has changed , where once there was war now peace reigns over the land with the help of the Preventers. The need for weapons on earth has come to an end and so even those once great weapons called the Gundams have been destroyed and with it the group of younge pilots that had once been brought together for war have tried to find their own lifes and fight daily to live them as best that they can. 

_"What am I crazy or something , sticking around here isn't for me , I'd do better going back home instead of staring at it from Earth every night ...... , it's nothing personal ya know , just being here really isn't for me .... I could never just settle down and do nothing all day living off charity"_   
He had said it many times but they never would understand his reasoning , in reality he had been a thief all his life and never would take charity , not since he saw what charity had done for him in the past ... no , he wasn't going back into that , it was better not to go digging graves up right now. 

_"But Duo , what is there to do up there , atleast here you have a roof over your head and food to eat , what have you got waiting for you up there?"_   
Quatre knew it was a losing battle , if Duo ever did make up his mind to go there was nothing that even he could say to stop him , after all really what was there to do , Trowa was enjoying himself in the travelling circus , Wufei was part of the Preventers now and Heero was usually in the Lanc kingdom with Relina , all of them trying to get on with the life that was left to them and he had hoped Duo would just stay with him. The last and most eratic of the group never did have anything so Quatre had done everything in his power to look after the stray of the group and had been fought the entire way but it hadn't detered him any.   
_"If it's just because you are bored I am sure I could find a job for you in my own company , I just don't want to see you going back to a place that has nothing left for you and you going back to the life you left"_

_"Look Quat , it's been great seeing everyone happy and making sure that they are all okay and not going crazy blowing themselves up and all , but now that it's all over I want to go back and make a difference , sure we did our job and now it's time I took some time to find myself"_   
Not to mention find a way to wash all the blood off his own hands , oh sure there was a reason for it then , a kill or be killed situation usually forces you into that corner but now that it was all done the faces had started haunting him in his sleep , he had toyed with the idea of maybe going back and rebuilding the church , sure he didn't believe in God or anything but to pay back Father Maxwell for what he had done in the past , not just while Duo was a kid but while he had been in hell , fighting to keep it from taking the Earth and the colonies that he loved so. 

A worried look passes over Quatre's face , almost hurt that he has lost the last of his small group , but the smile returns , he understands that the toll taken can draw on even the deepest friendships.   
_"You win Duo , if you want to go then go , but you will write me when you get there , and keep me informed as to what's going on inside that crazy head of yours right , you won't just forget about me , cause I'd look pretty silly going all the way up there just to have to hunt you down you know?"_   
That's it , just keep it casual , after two years of comming to know those that protected your back it was hard to let that kind of friendship go , but that was just selfish , they wern't saying goodbye just parting for alittle while , but that didn't help the small Arabian who had always worn his heart on his sleeve. 

_"Don't worry , I'll write home every day okay Mommy , I promise"_   
That famous grin flashed across Duo Maxwell's face , the best mask he had was to make a joke about the whole deal , but one just didn't leave a lifetime behind in two years , they had come so close even at death's door that this would be the hardest part , saying goodbye in person , oh sure the others would be easier , Heero had Relina after all so this should be taken with his usual grunt of disapproval , Trowa was likely busy being a target or playing with the lions to really say much and Wufei .... oh face it , this would sound like good news to him , and they'd know where to find him but to watch Quatre's face do that funny worried look just made it like trying to pull a fly from a spiders web and yet leave the web in tact. 

_"Oh just go already , no need for you to be couped up indoors when all you do is look up at your home and remeber , if you need anything I am right here , it's not like I won't be checking up on you though , I do travel and may just drop by unexpectedly"_   
Laughter , of course the picture of finding posters all over the colony with a "wanted" picture of Duo made that easier , and it was always better to part with a smile , wasn't that what his father had called "good buisness" at one point. 

The american put his left hand behind his neck with a grimace on his face , letting it set there for a moment before he finally spoke.   
_"Well okay ......, just give me about an hours worth in the notice department , just so I can make sure the place is clean and all"_

The last comment brought fear to Quatre's face and then a real laught , Maxwell had gone and done it again , making things easier with a joke and a smile , oh how he would miss that , as they said their final farewells at the spaceport the sadness followed them , they talked about the others to kill the time but when it finally came they parted ways like it was normal to them , they had been on many missions before and had parted the exact same way , never with any fear that it was the last time that they would see each other and so far fate had been kind enough to ensure that the group had found their way back to each other in the end , Quatre held off till he had made it home , trying to remember it wasn't the end but the silence of the house told him differently , with Duo being there it had never been so quiet. He walked past the assult of silence waiting for him and in a desperate need to hear noise he walked over to the case that he had kept his violin in , gingerly taking it from the display case and started playing it , going from one piece to another remembering all the fun and hardship that they had all undergone , the missions that held no promise of return , and the faces that he never even seen that had died by those same hands that aptly held a bow now bringing from it the soothing notes that did little to help his resolve from slowly crumpling. He stopped and set the violin on the piano as he sat upon the stool and lower his face into his hands , finally letting it hit him that he had no one left depending on him to be the brave one as he let all the pain and disappointment out quietly and undisturbed within his santuary. 

Duo had watched as long as he could from his seat , he was finally going home but he felt as if he had just left it behind instead of the excitement he had hoped to feel on his way back to the colonies , the mist rose in his own eyes but he refused to let them go and so the tears soon settled , he focused his thoughts back to try and figure out the big question that had been bothering him for some months , Now what , that question haunted him day and night , before there really only was doing what he could to help the others , doing his missions as the God of Death , but what happened to that God when there was no more death needed , the idea of the Grim Reaper sitting back on the beach relaxing was definatly not a very sought after idea so now he would go bak and rebuilt what little he had before it all started. Maybe he could find that time where there was no fighting , no blame , just peace of mind and happiness , but if he was ever going to be happy he knew he would have to earn it , the blood would never be washed from his hands but he often wondered if doing as much good in the present would ever help ease all the bad from the past. 


	2. Duo's Work

He woke to the intercom announcing their soon arrival at the L2 colonies , not that he had slept much the enitre time he'd been in the craft , he always prefered this view from his own seat but with Deathsythe having been gone this was what was leftt to him , of course he always could have tryed to re-made it , they did blow them all up but that didn't stop Sandrock from being rebuilt at one point , and he really didn't want to know how Zechs had rebuilt Heero's Gundam so quickly but if it could be done with those ones then what stopped him from rebuilding Deathsythe , even if it would just become some statue that he would end up donating somewhere in the end. 

It was funny how the part of your life that you should most want to forget is the part that troubled you more to rebuild , he knew why he was going back to L2 , Father Maxwell's life long goal had never been fufilled and this was going to be one of the ways he was going to pay his past back for never letting him forget who he was .... and that was just the beginning. 

The colony L2 came into sight of the ship and he watched as he planned , but his first thought was still of the church and those that were there for him when he needed it , he was going to make them proud of him even if it was a small thing ... his faith never would be restored but he had to believe that there was a place for people like those he had known over his life time that just seemed to fall under an old curse. 

It had taken some months but he had finally finished ,he stood back reflecting on what he had bent his will to do , he had returned and came up to what was left of the church to find it really hadn't changed much , oh sure time changes everything and this was no different , when he came he found it in use as a place to play for those that hid in the shadows at night , the ages ranged from a few 17 year olds down to the youngest one at 4 years old , they had come together to find a way to manage , the part that struck him most was that they had been there when he had come not that they stayed long afterwards. One would almost have thought it was a day care with the older ones watching for any sign of trouble while the younger ones played , it looked like they had done some work on clearing away the debris inside the building so it made a perfect place to confine and watch the younger ones but now that was all changed , there was a place for them to play , it hadn't been easy but calling in a few favors for some space debris had been the easy part , finding what to use them for creativly .... well that he had some help on , hard to believe when he started this whole thing that all he had thought to do was built the church. The last thought had been what he was going to use to do that with but it seemed that when one person showed enough stamina the whole colony kicked in , for a week straight he had worked at clearing it up , of course under the eyes of those who now ran and hid , soo a few even came out to help him and he accepted the help and before he knew it he had the whole colony offering help , it had been a good sign to wipe away the effects of war here. 

After getting to know some of the more bolder children he found that not much had changed , it was all just like when he was growing up , and that would have to change too , starting with getting these children a place to grow up in and be happy , the last two years he had met atleast two children that had never known much happiness and his own sorted past on top just attributed to his greatest fears of more children growing up and living like that , of course he knew a few people who would fully agree and that was the first time he had actually contacted Quatre since he had come back , back to a place he was going to make his home. 

~~~oO(@)Oo~~~   
One year later   
~~~oO(@)Oo~~~ 

It was official , once more the church had been rebuilt , the area surrounding it that had once seen great horror was now a place of pure fun as it had become a park , bringing the trash of war disaster into a place that childrens laughter had cleansed it of all evils of war and with the help of the Winner's family now the orphanage had been completed , a place finally for the street children to go and hopefully find love once again , ,and all in a bid to try and clean one mans hands of all the blood he himself had brought upon them , was it good enough , even he did not know but it was a start he knew as he sighed and got ready , they had made this into a media circus , a Gundam pilot , bringer of death upon many had come home to try and bring life to others ..... these guys would do anything to get a story but since it was a good time to let Quatre stand in the spot light for all his help and to show that not everything ends in evil he had agreed , and it would be good to see his old friends , they wouldn't miss a chance to goad him on becomming the model citizen that everyone let on he was , he was dressed normally enough for the old God of Death from years gone by but others thought he was some kind of religious man , oh how nice it would be to get started on his next project. 

Trey came in , looking pleased as usual , she had escaped the comotion going on outside and was glad atleast one thing hadn't changed.   
_"Well , looks like quite the little party down there for you ... you going to hide up here all day , there are a lot of people asking about you and some just asking for you like your small blond friend , he looks like a cat caught in a bear trap"___

Duo turned and gave his wickedly grin , guess he had been leaving Quatre on the spot down there alone but it's not like he had any more familiarity with being in a spot light and all.   
_"Ehhh .... , guess I should go offer him a hand or something , get this whole thing done with so I can get back to just doing my own thing"_

Trey came up and grinned , checking over his clothes so he wasn't about to go walking down there and having forgotten something , like his head , she had never seen him nerved up like this , but then he really wasn't use to dealing with everyone's attention on him all at once.   
_"You'll do great , just flash that smile and half the girls down there will forget what they were even going to ask you , just remeber no running off with any of them , if anyone has dibs it is me .... what with all the things you owe me for "_   
She laughed , this had been their own private joke , every time she did something he hated to do it was always the same , he would just laugh after she told him and say he owed her one , the worst partt was the only thing she wanted to see was him happy , ,and one of these days she was going to get him back with the biggest joke ever ..... now she just had to make sure that day would come , if she could ever get him away from trying to do everything and just settle back for a small time , maybe she should find something for him to tinker with instead of getting so involved with , ,then she realised she had just created a big silent pause and laughed again , more at herself then the poor expression on Duo's face. 

_"What , did I forget something ?"_   
He double checked himself but found nothing , man he hated when she'd get quiet , it was unnerving at times , like she was off on some remote island and just came back as quick , but maybe she had seen something this time. 

_"Nope , your good , was just thinking you'd need a new hobby now that all this work is done , the last thing I want is for you to get bored , ,still remember the sink incident , lets get going before they send the Rescue squad up here for you ...."_   
Oh lord did she remember the sink , one little complaint about the color was all it took , 4 months to get the new one he had "found" in and two of that being straight work after he ripped the old one out , the idea of doing the dishes in the bath tub still haunted her. She led him down , normally she knew she should be behind him to make sure he didn't duck out on them but with his friends here she was pretty sure he wasn't going far , she waited at the main doors to the re-built church and looked up the stairs at him , watching him as he looked over the place one more time before going out into the crowd.   
_"Come , it is perfect as always , just let everyone else see what you've made"_


	3. Media Field Day

Duo looked around , trying to keep as far away from this publicity show as he could , he hadn't done this just to look important , it was more like a pay back for everything that had been done for him , after all it had been Father Maxwell who had taken them all in off the streets and he never really was one for charity , was it such a big deal to repay the favor , even if it had been some time in the doing it was his own way to clear his soul of debt , but now there were flashes in his face and so much comotion all because he had done it , but had it changed anything , Father Maxwell was still dead and that wasn't going to change really , he had let Quatre handle most of it , giving credit to Howard for dragging junk from space to be used in a better way then to be collected and put in a scrap yard to rust away.  
  
Of course Quatre's company had supplied things that even Duo couldn't find with his connections , the children that lived their days and nights on the street had worked to bring this all around as well so why was it that they were all looking at him like he had done some great deed. He listened to Quatre's speech which he had to admit was better then he would have done , no one ever said that the former pilot of DeathSythe was into public speaking , he knew he did better with small crowds but his luck was running out as Quatre was introducing him as the one who started it all , if he could only get out of this he would be happy.  
  
Trel watched his face and that look of fight or flight cross his face , it was about time she was learning something that he couldn't look so impressive at but if she didn't do something to calm him down he likely would find a way to run , and this time she had no intention to cover for him , she slipped close to his right arm and just put a hand on his left shoulder to show him that he wasn't alone like when he started. "Hey , they arn't going to hurt you , just act like you do around the kids and you'll be fine , they are just curious , go tell them the truth and they will understand"She whispered to him.  
  
Duo just smiled weakly , did he even remember the truth as to why he started it all , of course he had but he wasn't about to tell the world that the God of Death was trying to clean his hands of all the blood he himself had put there  
  
He stepped up to the platform and started wondering why that thing had ever been made in the first place , came up to stand beside Quatre and timidly looked out over a crowd of reporters , orphans and a few faces he had known years before hand , at least to him it had felt like years , even Relena had come which truly shocked him but even more it showed him how much they had supported him and brought about his old smile again , and gave him an idea on what to say.  
  
"Hey , I may not be as good at this as Qua... Mr. Winners is but bare with me for this one." He stepped down off the stage , went to the group of orphans that had been snickering and trying to behave through the whole thing but kids being as they are they had failed and ended up getting dirty in the process , he picked the smallest of them up and waved for the rest to follow him , bringing them all up on stage as Trey looked on with a smile , she had said to be himself after all.  
  
"Now , here is the reason and the only reason that we have all put so much effort into rebuilding the church , they are happy , have something to call their own and know they are loved , not just by those that look after them. It wasn't just my hands working but each and every one of these children helped and proved that they will not let things from the past defeat them , and as one we accomplished something here , and I'm just glad I could help them build something for themselves" he grinned , having said all he felt like saying as he turned back to the kids that had been so quiet under the scrutiny of the crowd and just laughed , that had been the longest he had ever heard them be quiet while they were awake , of course the media would eat that up he thought as he looked over at Quatre and grinned , walking away from center stage with a small crowd of kids poking and starting to play behind him.  
  
Now that it was all over he was feeling better , he was back over by Trel watching the kids play in the grass with more interest then usual , oh course his mind was far away on something that had been said earlier , now what was he going to work on.  
  
When the whole fiasco was done and over with he was glad for the quieter reception he ended up getting from the kids when he came back to the center that they called home , there had been a luncheon laid out for those that had attended and even though there had been tons at the opening it seemed few were actually attending the center , but with that much publicity coming this way it was bound to be one of the last quiet days around. 


End file.
